Miscalculations
by Flaming Platinum
Summary: His plan was a duel constructed so that he will win. And yet, he lost thanks to that unexpected variable.


**Written for the Phrases Bootcamp using the phrase: You've fallen for my trap! (This surprisingly isn't an actual duel.) And it's a bit on Vector as he posed as Shingetsu.**

* * *

It was a duel arranged so that Yuma would lose.

.

"Yuma-kun!" Shingetsu yelled, clumsily running down the steps in effort to catch up to the one in front of him.

It was the first step of the plan; get Tsukumo Yuma to trust him like he does everyone else, and it was working perfectly. This was the second day they had met, and Yuma didn't suspect anything.

"Shingetsu?" Yuma asked, surprised as Shingetsu clung on his arm. Yuma then checked his non-existent watch, and exclaimed that he was going to be late once again.

"Ah, don't worry, I know of a shortcut!" Shingetsu said, his face lit up for a different reason then what he hoped Yuma believed. Before Yuma could protest, Shingetsu lead him in the complete opposite of the school.

It wasn't actually a shortcut, more like some kind of death trap. But still, Yuma believed him and that was the only important thing.

And so Shingetsu lead Yuma through a completely different shortcut then the one they took yesterday, with him avoiding getting hurt while Yuma wasn't so lucky.

_Let's just hope that Yuma thinks this is only because I'm some sort of a klutz._

They arrived at school fifteen minutes late.

-0-0-0-

Yuma still wasn't very trusting of Shingetsu, not that he could blame him, but it would put a damper on his plans. So he had to make their trust even stronger, even if it meant being an idiot and saying everything about Yuma was wonderful.

Which meant that Yuma's dueling abilities were 'wonderful', and enough to beat a pro duelist. And what better thing to do than arrange a duel with a pro duelist who came to teach the students how to duel?

As much as he hated to do so, Shingetsu had to cheer for Yuma like the rest of those idiots; smiling and telling him to do his best.

That was much worse than what he has to put up regularly.

-0-0-0-

Judging by how Yuma reacted whenever Shingetsu came around, Shingetsu would have been able to drop the "-kun" at the end of Yuma's name and Yuma would've been able to call him Rei without either of them sounding rude. But Shingetsu didn't drop the "-kun" for he didn't want to admit to Yuma that they became that friendly, and therefore Yuma followed suit.

There was still more to do to gain Yuma's complete trust. While they were able to drop the formalities, it wasn't enough for what Shingetsu needed.

No, he needed Yuma to be a gullible idiot who trusted him so much that it hurt Shingetsu to see how much he trusted him.

Which lead to Shingetsu being as gullible as what Yuma was supposed to be, idolizing Yuma and acting like he was the most perfect thing out there.

If this was a duel, this would be the time Shingetsu would pretend to lose; only to toy with his opponents even more.

-0-0-0-

And now it was time for his demonic side to be known.

It was a simple test of friendship to see exactly how attached Yuma has grown to him, but it was much more than that. It was the planting of a bomb, one that _will_ insure victory.

First, he had to knock out Yuma's little Barian friend, with Gilag in sight. And that was the most fun he had in ages.

He only needed Alit unconscious, but considering this was the first time he'd get to torment someone right that moment, he did it slowly, yet quickly. Alit was perfectly fine – only showing a couple of bruises to go with his unconscious state.

Then he needed to see how Yuma reacted to the news. And it was perfect.

Shingetsu honestly hated himself for making Yuma this trustful of him, because it hurt so much to see that idiot put all his faith in a person he just met. But it did mean that his plan was perfect, and it was working like he had planned. All he needed was that Astral to bring out his negative emotions and…

There was still more of the plan to complete, and therefore he couldn't afford to slip up now.

So he ended up dueling with that idiot, and planted the first bomb.

-0-0-0-

Shingetsu had to laugh at how easy it was to reassure Yuma that he was on his side. _And _how many lies he can accept as truth.

This was going to be easier than he had thought.

"But don't tell Astral, okay? This is our little secret, Yuma-kun," Shingetsu said while making a sealed lips sign.

"But Astral is my friend," Yuma replied back, looking more alert than he was before. "And he deserves to know this."

Oh, so Yuma _wasn't_ a gullible idiot that believed everything he said. But it didn't bother Shingetsu one bit. After all, what's one more lie going to do to this 'relationship'? It was already made from a lie.

"Please, Yuma, you can put the good Barians in jeopardy if you tell Astral. I already took a risk in telling you."

The idiot nodded to show he accepted.

Really, someone needs to teach Yuma not to trust everyone he meets.

-0-0-0-

It's about time to place the second bomb.

All it took was a duel – a five second one, to be exact – to notify Yuma about Vector, the worse Barian Emperor out there. The one that gave the good Barians a bad rep.

Yuma took it as an insult to those good Barians and demanded to be able to help get rid of Vector. That was when the second bomb was placed.

All it took was for Shingetsu to give Yuma those V cards, the ones that would be able to 'beat' Vector, and he would be destroyed.

Victory was so close that Shingetsu could almost taste it. That sweet taste of victory, mingled with the bitter taste of revenge. And Shingetsu – no, Vector – always loved bitter things.

-0-0-0-

And that victory was right within his grasp.

Yuma had been dueling for the sake of rescuing Shingetsu, despite being told that he was dead, and Vector let him have it. Vector let Yuma have the satisfaction of beating his copy, for it'll make that moment much sweeter.

He was an idiot. An idiot caring for Shingetsu, a person who never existed.

_Like he'll always be._

It was then Vector dropped the bomb. And he dropped it hard.

"Yuma…kun," he said for the final time. A devilish grin appeared on his as he staggered to get up.

"Shingetsu! You're alright!"

Vector broke out into a fit of laughter, one that was odd for the state he was in, yet perfect for the person who he really was. He looked up into pitch black sky and smirked once again.

"Shingetsu, what's wrong?" Yuma asked, his face growing frightful, as Vector expected it to look like.

Vector wasted no time in transforming into his Barian form, showing Yuma just how wrong he had been.

The idiot, however, protested. Protested against how that wasn't Shingetsu, how Shingetsu would never betray him like that.

It really did set the mood for everything.

It didn't matter if the fool thought that Shingetsu was still alive and this was some kind of cheap trick. All that mattered was that Vector was able to play with the boy even more.

And so he did – using Shingetsu voice and every lie uttered from that boy's mouth.

The best part was Astral's reaction. Like Vector had expected, Astral was unaware of half of the secrets Yuma shared with Shingetsu, which meant that their perfect little combo was broken.

And his mission was successful.

Until that boy managed to overcome all the odds and made a new ultimate weapon. One that insured their win, and Vector's lost.

.

It was a duel arranged so that Yuma would lose, and yet he somehow managed to overcome all and win.


End file.
